Issue 41 – 20th December, 2018

STUDENTS FINISH AT 1:30PM TOMORROW

ACTING PRINCIPAL REPORT

Hello everyone,

On behalf of all of the staff at Whittlesea Primary School, we wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas, shared

with family and friends. This year we celebrated with successful events and accomplishments including growth

awards, wellbeing programs, SWPBS BOLT/COLT and Chin Up, student leadership opportunities and more. We

can all be extremely proud of our strong community and the fact that we continue to strive to meet the needs of

every child at Whittlesea Primary School.

Our community showed tremendous Christmas spirit last Friday evening when, despite the weather, families

donned their wet weather gear and umbrella’s as a show of support for our annual Christmas carnival. Our staff

were unwavering as they set up in challenging conditions to make this special event happen. I would like to thank

Big Childcare for donating the inflatables, dunk tank and chair-o-plane and Sonny, Brett, Kayla and Beth for

staying and supporting us throughout the evening. I would also like to thank the Coon Truck and Truck with the

Lot for providing some much-needed hot food on a cold and rainy afternoon. Glenn Hamilton was fabulous as

Santa…the kids absolutely loved our special visitor and the Whittlesea Secondary College band performed, albeit

a little wet, under the musical direction of Mr John Breen. Finally, it would not be a Christmas carnival without the

superb carolling of our choir and the spontaneous dance led by Miss Amy Walsh and supported by Lee Wright

and Carli Starkey. Our choir also did a marvellous job performing at the Whittlesea Community Carols at St. Mary’s

on Saturday evening. Last but certainly not least, I would like to acknowledge Deb Armstrong for her organisation

and planning of this event including her ability to think outside the box to get a ‘Carnival Plan B’ organised so

quickly.

It seems fitting that we finish the year with yet another significant student milestone. On

December 8th at the annual Electrix Dance Studio cabaret, Eleana Banks-Wild (3J) received The

Karin Georgina Junior Award for her hard work and dedication to dance and her studio.

This prestigious award carries with it the respect and recognition of all her fellow dancers. As

part of her award, Eleana also won a scholarship for the first year of four years to the Dance

Steps program where Eleana will receive a mentor and train to become a dance

teacher. Congratulations Eleana on your achievements in dance this year and we look forward

to seeing you perform for us again at next year’s Whittlesea’s Got Talent!

Thank you to our dedicated parent helpers who were acknowledged at last week’s morning tea. Without your

ongoing support, we would not be able to provide the opportunities that we do. Thank you also to our dedicated

and skilled staff. Our teachers and ES staff go above and beyond to ensure our school succeeds and we wish

them a well-earned break over the summer. To our School Councillors and in particular – President Josh Parks,

thank you for your leadership of our School Council and the significant time you devote to Whittlesea Primary. It

is greatly appreciated.

We say farewell to two staff members, Melissa Layton and Eva Wang, who are moving on to other teaching

opportunities next year. Melissa has accepted a teaching position at Mernda Primary School and Eva at

Alphington Grammar. We wish Melissa and Eva well for the next phase of their teaching journey. Both Melissa

and Eva have worked tirelessly across our school and we thank them both for their contributions to Whittlesea

Primary.

Next year we welcome the following staff to our school:

Bianca De Luca – Year 1 teacher

Tayla Mason – Year 3 teacher

Jessica Fredricksen – Year 5 teacher

Finally, we would like to say congratulations and farewell to our graduating Year 6 students. We are very proud

of you all and the many achievements you have made. This year’s group have set a fine example to all students

throughout the year. We wish you every success in the future; remember to come back and connect with our

school whenever possible.

Enjoy a Merry Christmas with family and friends. We look forward to welcoming all students back on Thursday

January 31st

Rae Gittos

Acting Principal

MAINTENANCE PERSON REQUIRED – 2 DAYS PER WEEK

Do you enjoy doing odd jobs? Are you a handy person or have trade

background/experience? Our school is currently advertising for a maintenance

person to work 2 days per week in our school. If you are interested in applying for

this position, you can do so online through Recruitment Online or by emailing your

résumé, outlining your relevant experience/expertise (including 3 referees) to Ty

Hoggins at whittlesea.ps@edumail.vic.gov.au. The advertised positon closes on the

2nd January and will commence the week of Monday 14th January.

ACTING ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL REPORT

When I look back through our Facebook Page I am always surprised at just how much we manage to fit in one

school year. There is always something going on to support the learning in classrooms and to engage our students

and the wider school community.

From bake sales, to cooking with produce from our very own kitchen garden, to tinkering with technology, building

inventions from recyclable materials, learning to be forensic scientists or to be marine biologists. There is so

much to reflect on.

I would urge everybody to take the time to scroll through the Facebook posts and reflect on the wonderful

experiences our students have had. It certainly is a great way to have a peak into the goings on in our learning

areas.

With the holidays only a few days away, I thought it would be a timely opportunity to think about how we can

ensure we get the care we need. Dr. Gary Chapman in his book ‘The Five Love Languages’ talks about the different

‘loves’ that are important to us. We each have our own that is more important.

For my youngest son, ‘Quality Time’ is most important to him. Turn the phone off and just talk or watch a movie

with no distractions. As for Michael, the older one, he needs ‘Words of Affirmation’ ALL the time!

Which language of love do your children need?

Words of Affirmation Verbal compliments don’t have to be complicated; the shortest and simplest

words of affirmation can be the most effective.

Acts of Service Doing things willingly for somebody else that you know they would appreciate.

Receiving Gifts Meaningful and thoughtful gifts, only need to be small gestures.

Quality Time Undivided attention. No TV, no mobiles, or any other distractions.

Physical Touch Cuddles, holding hands, a pat on the back.

I’d like to wish everybody a wonderful Christmas. I look forward to seeing everybody back at school in 2019 and

for those moving on to new schools wish them all the very best for new beginnings.

Betty Tzelepis

Acting Assistant Principal & Leading Teacher - Wellbeing

NORTHERN REGIONAL UNIFORM SHOP

Christmas Closure

Northern Regional Uniform Shop will close on Wednesday 19th December 2018 at 2pm and re-open on Wednesday

9th January at 9am.

THANK YOU

On behalf of Whittlesea Primary School, we would like to send a heartfelt thank you to our amazing community

for supporting our rather wet Christmas carnival. Staff had put in so much time and effort to ensure the

success of this community event and unperturbed by the rain they were flexible in modifying things so the event

went ahead.

Thank you to the parents, families and staff who donated goods for the Raffles and Silent Auction as well as

their time and specific expertise, Whittlesea Secondary College band and for their marquee, Big Child Care for

the rides and stall and the Coon Van for all proceeds.

We appreciate that you, our amazing community, still came even under such horrendous conditions and that

you supported the school to help us succeed!

Last year with sunny weather we raised approximately $5,000 and yet this year with horrendous rain we still

raised $3,000!

Once again, we are sincerely grateful for your support of our wonderful school.

Kind Regards and Merry Christmas,

Deb Armstrong and the staff of Whittlesea Primary school

WPS CHOIR

Wow, what a busy end to the year our talented performing arts students have had. This term has been jam packed

with performances for both our choir and dance students. Christmas Assembly, Christmas Carnival and the

Community Christmas Carols in Whittlesea are just some of the performances to mention. A huge shout out and

thank you to these students who were so committed to give up multiple breaks to rehearse in order to feel

confident to perform and do their best at all of these events.

A big thank you to the parents who supported and encouraged their children to be a part of it – it is such a great

experience for them! I would also like to thank the team of staff that assisted me throughout this busy time of

year, including giving up their own time to help with rehearsals and the organisation of all of the events, without

these people none of this would have been possible. Also, thank you to Ty, Rae and Betty for their ongoing support

throughout the year, I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to share my passion with these students. I hope

you all enjoy your well-deserved break and I can’t wait to get back into it next year with another bunch of talented

and committed singers and dancers.

I wish all of our WPS families a Merry Christmas and a safe and

Happy New Year!

Amy Walsh

SCHOOL CAPLAIN REPORT

Community is one of our school values and last Friday evening we were given a chance to show how well we do

it. As a school community, we passed with flying colours. We were given the ultimate test when the rain did not

cease, and in fact increased in its intensity. Deb Armstrong our Christmas Carnival coordinator made the wise

call to change to Plan B which meant we move most outside events into rooms. Teachers were ready and willing

and set up in their new locations, and the rain kept falling. We might have wondered at that stage about the

number of families willing to brave the elements and come.

The wonderful response by families was in their coming, and in large numbers, and moving from classroom to

classroom, and the gym and library, then on to the undercover arcade area on the upper level, and back and

around again, with or without umbrellas. I had to be told all this because I had my head down face painting in a

classroom with Rae Gittos. There were moments when the queue of waiting children was ‘anxiously’ long. The

room was getting pretty crowded. Angela Verbeeten who was there with her children, assessed the situation

and joined us as a third member of the painting team. She borrowing brushes and paints and got into it. We

were flat out until ‘pack up time’. Thank you again Angela. You saved us by giving us an unexpected and deeper

level of community support.

I rate our school carnival a success, not because we did better than in past years, but because we as a wider

school community held together in adversity. The heavy rain did not dampen our spirits. For me that is

something very special, something that makes me doubly proud of our school, proud to be a part of it. I know

the show bags just about sold out in the next classroom, and lots of sausages cooked under the awnings were

eaten. The Secondary College Show Band had an audience and so did our school choir. This last big school

event for the year affirmed and enhanced the health of our school community. We can all give ourselves a pat

on the back.

Have a very blessed Christmas! Peter Ackland - school chaplain

COMMUNITY NEWS

Whittlesea Monday Market is

OPEN Christmas Eve - 24 December 2018

8 am to 1 pm

Animal farm, pony rides, special visitor (guess who) plus great food, drinks & shopping!

CLOSED

New Year’s Eve 31 December 2018

As our Market is a community market, we hope that everyone understands the closure on this

day and the importance of time with family and friends for the stallholders and volunteers.

We will be back and open on MONDAY, 7 JANUARY 2019 8 am to 1 pm

Best wishes for the festive season

Selling our meat direct to public is a relatively new venture, however we have been breeding cattle and sheep

on the property for the last 15 years. In the past our cattle have gone to market and because of the high

quality, the carcasses are almost always exported overseas to Russia or Japan. Although we ourselves have been

eating the amazing produce that we grow, we know that meat of this quality is very hard to find in the shops.

Overseas buyers will pay premium prices so the premium quality meat goes offshore. This doesn’t seem right to

us. We put a lot of effort into breeding & raising the highest quality animals in the most ethical & sustainable

way possible so the desire to farm in this way has led us down the path of marketing our product to people

who care equally about what they are eating, and so our journey as Aroona Produce began.

Our animals are 100% grass fed. This means they live their lives in large paddocks & are free to roam & graze.

This is a healthy natural lifestyle. It also means the composition of the meat is healthier for us, the main

difference being that it contains up to 5 times more Omega 3 fatty acids than grain fed beef, among other

things.

We do not use any growth promoting hormones & we don’t feed any genetically modified feeds. We don’t

need to use antibiotics because our herds are healthy & well managed with ample space.

Our cattle are grown out to 2 - 2.5 years of age, roughly 500-600kg. This means the meat has more natural

marbling & a fuller flavour. Most of the beef that comes from large scale producers would be slaughtered closer

to 1-year-old & usually finished on grain in a feed lot. Lambs are also grown out longer than average.

Our beef is dry aged for 14 days, which further improves the flavour and tenderness. All meat is professionally

butchered & cryovaced in convenient portions for storage in your fridge or freezer.

We sell our beef in 10kg mixed-cut boxes at $23 per kg

Due to the fact that we are utilising the whole animal, each box will vary slightly, but will contain:

A roast Prime Cut Steaks Diced Beef Ribs Sausages

Mince Osso Bucco Gravy beef Schnitzels BBQ Steak

We sell lamb as a ‘half lamb’ which is usually between 7-9kg at $21 per kg and includes:

2 Roasts Rack of lamb Chops – loin & chump Mince Necks

Orders can be made via phone, email or Messenger, meat is available at 8-10 week intervals. Find us on

Facebook and Instagram. T: 0434 585 496